William Thomas Stead
The bronze bas-relief memorial plaque to journalist William Thomas Stead (1849–1912) is set into the Fifth Avenue perimeter wall near the East 90th Street entrance (Engineers’ Gate).
An investigative journalist and editor from England, William Thomas Stead was committed to causes such as child welfare, workers’ rights, and social justice. A passenger on the Titanic, Stead died heroically trying to help others survive the ship’s collision with an iceberg.
The Stead monument was dedicated in 1920. It is a replica of a monument created by the British sculptor George James Frampton that was installed in 1913 near the Thames River in London. The Committee of the American Stead Memorial, composed of friends and fans, paid for the replica and advocated for its placement in the Park. The inscription is framed by two allegorical figures, a knight representing Fortitude and an angel representing Sympathy.
There are three other monuments to journalists in the Park, Arthur Brisbane, the Sophie Loeb Fountain, and Frederick Douglass.
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